


When Giving Your Integrity Knights Orders...

by Ignicula



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alice Ships It, Alice has Blackmail for Years, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, M/M, Now a two-shot, Quinella has Regrets, alternate ending to season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignicula/pseuds/Ignicula
Summary: ...Make sure you're extra clear on what those orders are.In other words, Quinella tells Eugeo Synthesis Thirty Two to go to the lower floor, stop the intruders, and take back what is his. She means his sword. He gets creative.
Relationships: Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito
Comments: 17
Kudos: 212





	1. Quinella's Orders

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I thought of at 3 AM and proceeded to write at 5 AM. I hope you all enjoy. Note: Characters are going to be a bit OOC for this, but not to the point I thought I should tag for it. If you guys think I should just tell me in the comments and I'll fix it.

Quinella had synthesized many Integrity Knights in the past and would continue to synthesize more in the future. This was fact. However… she’d never failed to do her research on a person _quite_ like she’d failed with this one.

_“You are starved for love…”_

_“Actually Kirito is an overgrown cat, so I think I’m fine there.”_

_“...You desire love that is only for you.”_

_“I already have that, thanks.”_

_“You are alone…”_

_“Not quite as alone as you think.”_ Cue spider bite.

Well… the spider had escaped, but she’d finally managed to forcefully synthesize Eugeo. She smiled at the boy sitting on the bed with her, preparing to reap the benefits of her labors, but…

_Even when faced by the naked body of the most beautiful woman in all of The Underworld, he’s completely flaccid. I’m practically feeling him up while helping him figure out his new armor, too, and he doesn’t even seem to care. There’s no hope for this one._

She’s saved from the rather awkward situation by the intrusion of Chudelkin’s squealing pig-like form. “Your Eminence!” He shrieks. “Th-th-th-the intruders! They’re on the floor below! SAVE ME!”

 _...He might have saved me from the awkward situation, but the urge to squish him like a roach is growing by the second._ “Eugeo Synthesis Thirty Two,” she says, “this is good timing for you. The intruders have your sword. Your orders are to stop them and take back what is yours.”

“Of course, your grace.” he says, standing and walking towards the hole in the floor. As he does so, Quinella smiles smugly.

_With this, you’ll be completely mine. The… delusions of affection you have for and think you are receiving from that boy will disappear, and nothing will be able to free you from your Synthesized state again._

Five minutes later, as she’s examining her nails, some rather interesting noises accompany Eugeo’s return.

Specifically.

“Oy, Eugeo, put me down!”

“I can’t do that.”

“WHY?” There’s the sounds of grunting, struggling, and thrashing. “Put me down already!”

“I already said no.”

She turns to the curtains. Sure enough, there’s Eugeo synthesis thirty-two, sword in its rightful place, holding another blade in one hand…

With this ‘Kirito’ slung over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes and restrained by a sacred art.

“Um, Eugeo, what is this?” Quinella asks like she’s never asked anyone before. She genuinely has no idea what’s going through his head right now and would really like an explanation as soon as possible please and thank you. “I believe your orders were to reclaim your sword and stop the intruders, not bring one here.” Speaking of the intruders, if he’s gone and done this where the hell is the other one? She can’t imagine dear Alice would have just _left_ them there.

“...Your orders were to reclaim what was mine.” He says, head tilted as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “So I did.”

An odd noise comes out of Kirito’s mouth, face turning bright red. “Eh? Eugeo, what was that?”

Quinella sits there for a moment, stunned. _Of all the idiotic…_ She’d like a nice wall to bang her head against now. Repeatedly. Until it bleeds. 

For his part Chudelkin seems to be equally confused. “Um, your eminence?”

“Eugeo?”

“You’re mine, right?” Eugeo asks the other boy, seemingly completely innocent. “So I went and got you back.”

This.

Was.

Not.

What.

She.

Meant.

“As far as I remember, your orders had nothing to do with this ‘Kirito’.”

“...Kirito?” Eugeo asks.

“Yeah, my name… You must’ve forgotten because of the synthesis.” The boy says, still wiggling to try and get free. “I’m Kirit..oooooOOOOOOOOOOOO???”

The second he starts saying his mind, the piety module flies out of his forehead as if someone grabbed it with a magnet and flung it across the room. By this point, Quinella isn’t even surprised.

“Kirito...Aaaaaaah.” Eugeo seems to want to melt. “S-sorry!” He drops Kirito back onto his feet.

“It’s fine, for now, let’s focus on the task at hand.” Eugeo hands Kirito his sword back and draws his own, and they both turn to face her.

“Okay, you know what?” She says, her pleasant facade twisting into blind rage. “Killing you two seems _f***ing therapeutic_ right now.”

“Your Eminence?!” Chudelkin shrieks, eyes wide as if the world has ended. “What… what did you just…”

She flicks her wrist and with the discharge of a sacred art, he goes splat. “I’ve wanted to do that for _so long_ now.” Time to summon her…

_Stab._

She looks down at her chest in disbelief at the golden blade protruding from her heart, agony searing through her being. A look behind her reveals golden hair and blue eyes, and it’s just enough to know who killed her before she dies.

O

“...So, Eugeo, since when did Kirito belong to you?”

“Uuuuuurgh…” Eugeo’s hands go over his steaming red face as he cringes. “Why did I _say_ that?”

“I thought it was romantic,” Kirito teases, draping himself over Eugeo’s shoulders. “And very cute, even if you did kidnap me.”

“C-cute?” Eugeo asks, seeming disheartened. “I’m not supposed to be…”

“Eugeo, you’re not fooling anyone.” Alice states. “So, about these memories of mine…”

“Right! It’s the eye of the bird up there.”

“I can’t wait to have my memories back… I want to remember my sister as soon as possible so I can go meet her. We can bond over the new memories we’ve made, like Eugeo walking up to Kirito, proclaiming he’s his, picking him up and walking away with him.”

“Stacia please spare me.”

“Oi, Alice, you forgot the part where we fought and he froze you in a giant ice cube.”

“...Technicalities. It was still hilarious. Oh, by the way, what’s this strange stacia window?”

END


	2. Kirito and the Strange Behaviors of Eugeo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... I kind of decided to write another part to it from Kirito's perspective. This one is quite a bit longer than I expected it to be, so I guess that Short One Shot tag I put on the story when I published the first chapter will have to go. Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice: This one isn't going to be quite as funny as the first chapter, just going to warn you ahead of time. It's going to be emotional, and while it is funny later on, the first part is actually kind of heart-wrenching. Be prepared.

There are few people in the world that Kirito can hate the way he hates this Prime Senator Chudelkin and The Administrator. Chudelkin toys with other people's lives and mocks them as if all of them are nothing more than bad jokes, sucking up to that  _ scumbag  _ Administrator who has caused so much harm.  _ The taboo index, the seal. The one who stole away the integrity Knights’ memories, who killed the guardian dragons, who gave nobles the power to become spoiled pigs, the one who lorded over them in this tower as though she were a god. _

_ The one who took Eugeo away from me. _

He grits his teeth as he and Alice charge up the stairs after the fleeing vermin, her seemingly in a similar state of rage. Idly, he thinks they’ll get along well, maybe they can even bond over  _ ripping the pig apart. _

“System Call! Generate Luminous Element!” Chudelkin’s voice rings out from the top of the staircase.

“Watch out for a sacred art surprise attack!” Alice warns.

“Roger that!” Kirito responds, falling into step beside and slightly behind her, but when they enter the room…

_ It’s empty?  _

“I thought I heard him chanting,” Alice says. “Could it be that Chudelkin escaped to the hundredth floor?”

“But then where are the stairs leading up there?” Kirito asks. The room is completely empty. His eyes scan the room before they land on an out-of-place circle on the ground beneath a hole in the ceiling. He gives a short gasp, realizing what had happened. Before he can say anything, however, a sound like the tolling of a bell rings out. 

A flash of light emerges from the hole, and standing upon an orb of wind, a figure begins to descend.

The first thing he sees are the armored shoes, then the blue cape and pants. As the figure descends it reveals more silvery blue armor and the blue uniform of the integrity knights.

“There were still integrity knights remaining?” Kirito asks, on guard. At the same time, something begins to worm its way into his mind that he  _ desperately  _ wants to deny. 

“No, that can’t be.” Alice confirms part of his fears.

Kirito knows someone with that height and build. He knows someone who wears blue, who wouldn’t have his own sword at the moment because Kirito is holding onto it for him. He knows someone they’re looking for that was likely taken to the hundredth floor, and he knows that it’s possible to forcibly synthesize someone.

And then the person is fully revealed. He knew it, but his eyes still go wide in disbelief at what he sees.  _ No, this is impossible. This isn’t right. _

Two calm, clear teal eyes open, fixating on him and Alice serenely and without recognition.

“Eugeo!” Kirito cries. “You…”

“It can’t be.” Alice gasps, and Kirito can hardly hear her past his mind screaming in denial. “It’s too soon?”

“Too soon for what?!”  _ Please tell me I’m wrong, please, anything but this… _

“For the ritual to be completed.” Alice replies gravely. “Your partner… Eugeo has already been synthesized.”

_ No, I refuse to believe that! Eugeo… Does that mean I’ve… I’ve lost him? _

His mind swirls with denial, and he takes a shaky step forward. “No way.” He refuses to believe it. He  _ refuses.  _

_ Eugeo with his kind smile, gentle eyes and hands… Eugeo can’t be… _

“It can’t be, because…”  _ We promised to climb this tower together, to save Alice and stop the Administrator, so we could save everyone from the invasion of the Dark Territory, go home to Rulid… _

_ He’s the one who made Rulid feel like home. He IS my home… In this world or any other, where am I supposed to go, what am I supposed to do without him? How can I live like that? _

“Yes. Even though it hasn’t even been an hour since he fought against Bercouli.” She sounds disbelieving too. 

_ She’s right, it’s impossible. What an idiot to think that I’d lost Eugeo… so Eugeo, please say something!  _ “That’s right, it’s not possible.” His throat trembles with his voice as he takes another step forwards, followed by a second and a third. “Eugeo can’t…”

A rough armor-clad hand grabs his arm, stopping his advance. He flinches, eyes snapping to Alice. “Pull yourself together! If you waver now, you’ll lose any chance we have to save him!”

“Save?” He asks, mind clearing.  _ We can save him? _

“That’s right.” Alice replies, turning to face Eugeo, standing tall and strong. “You told me yourself that there’s a way to restore an integrity knight’s true memories.” Her visage fills with determination. “If that’s true, we should be able to restore Eugeo to who he was. To achieve that, we must overcome this dilemma no matter what.”

Suddenly, Kirito understands a lot of things about Alice, about why she was a precious friend to Eugeo, why she was such a respected mentor to Eldrie, why the other integrity knights were so fond of her. She was strong, both mentally and physically. She was far stronger than him, made so by the ordeals she’d faced in her lifetime as an Integrity Knight, perhaps just born with the spark that gave hope to others.

_ There’s still a chance.  _ His mind screams with her words.  _ I can still save him. We can still… _

He strengthens his resolve and looks Eugeo in the eyes. So far, all the integrity knight is doing is standing still, watching them and waiting for them to make a move. 

“Thank you, Alice.” He says, taking a deep breath. “And please leave this to me.” It’s foolish and selfish. With Alice’s help, he stands a far greater chance of success, but…

_ I want to save Eugeo myself, with my own hands. _

Alice nods, understanding on her features, and takes a step back. “Don’t let your guard down. Perhaps you and he share a bond like none other, but the Eugeo of now remembers none of that. Keep that in mind.”

“Right.”  _ Eugeo will remember. I’ll MAKE him remember. _

He steps forwards and stops in front of where Eugeo stands perched on the raised circle. 

“Eugeo, do you know who I am?” He asks.

“I’m…”

“You are vaguely familiar.” The other says, cutting him off. “And there’s something about you…” His eyes travel up and down Kirito’s form, and Kirito feels slightly uncomfortable to be scrutinized like that, even if it is by Eugeo. 

“I’m your partner.” Kirito says.  _ In many more ways than one. Please remember.  _ “Since we left Rulid… no, we’ve been together even before that, remember?”  _ Please. _

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember any of that.” He seems to have come to a decision. “However, I must thank you.”

It hurts beyond belief to hear the words out of his mouth, that the two years he shared with Eugeo have just been forgotten in what feels like the blink of an eye. Confusion outweighs that. “For what?”

“For coming here yourself and bringing my sword.” Eugeo says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“What?” Kirito asks, even more confused, until the sword at his side begins to glow. Without any prompting, the Blue Rose Sword suddenly flies from its place on his hip and soars into the air above Eugeo, dropping into his hands.

“Incarnate arms?” Alice asks, shock and horror in her voice. “Kirito, get back!”

“What’s that?” He demands, not listening to her order. 

“A secret art used by Integrity Knights since ancient times!” Alice says. “Nevermind that, get back! He’s already made it clear he’s after you!” She draws her own sword and moves to place herself directly between Kirito and Eugeo, shoving him back. “His skills now are clearly on a different level than they were before - I will not allow you to face him alone!” Kirito moves out from behind Alice’s attempt to shield him. 

“What do you intend to do with that sword?” He demands as Eugeo secures the sheath to his own side.

Eugeo looks him up and down. “My orders are to stop the intruders and take back what is mine.”

“Eugeo, just because you’ve been ordered to, you’re going to fight without even understanding why?” Kirito demands.

“But I have my own reason to fight.” Eugeo says. “I came here thinking the only thing of mine I needed to reclaim was my sword, but now I understand.” He turns to Alice with a dark glare. “Would you kindly get out of the way?”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“Eugeo, stop! That’s Alice!” He shouts.  _ If my name didn’t evoke a reaction… Even if mine didn’t, then hers should! Our original purpose was to come here to save Alice, so he has to remember her, right? _

“Alice?” He asks. “Ah, the name of a traitor.” No reaction?  _ Was it hopeless? What other names?  _

“Can you remember everyone?” Kirito demands. “Anything at all?”  _ Even though I’m familiar to him, he doesn’t remember me. Then…  _ “What about Selka?”

“My sister?” Alice asks, confused. 

“No.”

“What about Tiese? The girl who you mentored during our time in Centoria Sword Academy?”

Eugeo sighs. “I don’t care about these people. I’ll stop the intruder and take back what is mine. That is all that matters.”

...Intruder? Why only one?

_ Then… _

Eugeo steps down and walks forwards, drawing his sword. 

“Eugeo!” Alice roars. “You’re really going to turn on your partner like this?”

His eyes drift to her. “I have nothing more to say to you.”

Kirito takes a deep breath, trying to soothe the agony in his chest.  _ Then… I’ll defeat you. I’ll defeat you, then go up to that damn Administrator and MAKE her give you your memories back.  _ He puts a hand on his sword. “Eugeo… you probably don’t remember, but you learned your sword skills from me.” He draws the Gigas Cedar sword. “Even if you don’t remember me, or anything we shared together…” He grits his teeth to prevent himself from saying more and losing control to his emotions again, “But I’m not about to let my student beat me.” He gives him a shaky smile, hoping the old quip will restore some vestige of memory.

_ Eugeo’s hair is fluffy and soft, and I like his bangs, but right now I wish they weren’t in the way so I could see the piety module on his forehead, at least have some understanding of what he’s feeling right now, if we’ve gotten through to him at all, even if just a little. _

Eugeo narrows his eyes and takes a familiar fighting stance. Kirito takes one in return.

They’re different than they were before they reached Centoria. He and Eugeo have grown since then, learning under different teachers, refining different skills. Eugeo’s stance looks stronger, more powerful as a result of training in the Baltio Style, and Kirito’s is more streamlined for swift, agile strikes with the influence of the Serlut Style. The fact that the main base of his skill knowledge comes from Kirito, however, leaves Eugeo at a disadvantage…

Enough of a disadvantage that Kirito thinks he might be able to win.

“You’re not fighting alone.” Alice says, taking a combat stance of her own. It’s less familiar, but somehow reassuring. “You have my support.”

She’s not going to back down. He nods, and the three prepare to face off.

Kirito and Eugeo launch forwards at the same time, both with sword skills charged. Kirito mentally curses when he realizes the advantage of knowing each other’s strengths goes both ways. Their blades clash in the middle with the impact of two skills of equal strength colliding. “Why?” Kirito asks, the negative feelings welling up powerfully in his gut and unable to be restrained now that he’s here.. “Why did you lose to the synthesis ritual?”

Alice lunges in with a flurry of strikes, breaking the lock. None are aimed to kill, only to injure and disarm. As a result, none of them hit.

_ Eugeo has the advantage of being able to kill us. If he dies… _

_ If he dies… here, by my hand, or by anyone’s hand, I don’t even want to think about that! I don’t want to live in a world without Eugeo in it! _

He continues even after they part, Eugeo clashing blades with Alice before Kirito lunges in again. “Wasn’t the reason you trained to become a swordsman and left Rulid Village to head to the capital city, Centoria, to bring back your cherished childhood friend Alice?”  _ Wasn’t that the reason for all of this? If you’ve forgotten now, then what was the point? Why did we do any of this? _

They match each other strike for strike, each consistently using the same move as the other to little to no effect.  _ Damn, this is harder than I’d thought!  _

Alice leaps in again after a few strikes, this time from behind. Eugeo is forced to disengage and back up, eyes flickering between them. 

“Eugeo,” Kirito says in the break, “You and I have never fought seriously before, have we? I’ve thought about it a lot; which one of us would win if we actually crossed swords?” It’s a lie. Maybe it’s been a passing notion, but he never wanted it to come to fruition like this. Maybe if they were in a different world, like ALO or GGO where death wasn’t the end, then they could have a nice fight to determine who was stronger. Here, the thought of such a battle had quickly proven to give him  _ nightmares.  _ He continues talking. “I always thought you’d surpass me eventually,” he just learned so fast that even with all of Kirito’s experience, he found that he wasn’t able to keep up with how swiftly Eugeo picked up the sword.

The two clash blades again, but this time, instead of fighting back, he lets himself fall backwards.  _ I’ve never shown you this skill before!  _ The skill is not on his sword. As Eugeo’s blade flashes over his head, Kirito aims a kick at his arm in an attempt to knock it from Eugeo’s grip. It works, and the blade flies up to lodge itself in the ceiling.  _ Yes!  _

Kirito charged forwards with his sword. He wants to force Eugeo to surrender, but…

He sees Eugeo’s mouth open, hand flashing in his direction, and his shoes squeak on the ground as he tries to come to a halt, eyes wide.  _ Shit!  _

Orbs of light form at Eugeo’s fingers, and finally what Eugeo says registers to Kirito.

“Burst Element.”

Kirito cries out as he’s flung backwards. “Kirito!” Alice is too late to catch him. He bounces across the floor, but manages to hit the wall on his feet, dropping back down to the floor.  _ Shit that hurt!  _

“Is that person really your partner, Eugeo?” Alice asks as she readies herself for the next clash of blades. 

“What do you mean? You’re the one who said that Eugeo had already been synthesized?”

“That’s true, but… I’m not sure how to say this. For someone who just became an integrity knight, he seems too accustomed to battle.”

Eugeo begins to walk towards his sword, and Kirito knows he has to finish this before he reaches it. He lunges forwards, trying to make it in time, only for the sword to fly into Eugeo’s hand. Their blades flash, clattering against one another as they fight. Eugeo is more alert to his tricks this time, and he’s firing off sacred arts to boot. Alice joins the fray as soon as there’s a gap, giving Kirito a chance to temporarily disengage and get a read on Eugeo’s attack pattern.  _ I just have to… _

Alice is speaking. “Eugeo! I do not remember you myself, as my memories were stolen by the administrator when I was a child, like yours have been stolen now!” Their blades clash rapidly. “However I know that these memories still exist within both of us! There is still a chance for you to remember! For myself, I remembered my baby sister Selka. Is there no one whose name you remember? No echo of a past you can recall?”

He charges in when the fighting pauses, trading blows with Eugeo once more. The mistake is made by both of them in a flash at the same time, both gaining matching scratches on their shoulders. Kirito grunts in pain. Eugeo’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t seem to react himself. “Forgive me.” Kirito, who had attempted to disengage, suddenly finds himself on the defensive. Eugeo’s blade carves into his chest. It’s not deep, only a flesh wound, but the power behind the strike is enough to send him flying across the ground. “Please do not resist any further, I do not want to hurt you!”

Kirito grits his teeth.  _ Don’t let him distract you?  _ He launches from where he’s regained his feet, pushing through the pain to continue attacking. Alice joins in, and their combined attack forces Eugeo to retreat backwards. Kirito presses his advantage, but suddenly the red glow of a skill charging strikes him off-guard.  _ I forgot about this one!  _ Eugeo turns and their sword skills collide. 

He tries speaking again. “Does the skill you used have a name?” Kirito asks.

“Baltio style, storm wave.” Eugeo replies.

“Baltio style? That’s Golgorosso-senpai’s sword style!” If he remembers that… the chance is slim, but… “Eugeo, do you… Do you remember who taught you that sword skill?”

“I don’t know or care.” Eugeo replies. “However, it was helpful.”

“Helpful?” Kirito asks.

“I was hoping I could get you in close range like this again.” Eugeo says. His other hand comes up. “System call, generate Luminous Element.”

Kirito’s eyes widen, and he thrusts all his weight behind his own skill to buy himself an opening to disengage.  _ Shit, this is bad!  _ “Bind Shape. Discharge.”

Coils of light snap out from Eugeo’s hands before Kirito can bring his sword back up, wrapping around his form. “Shit!”

“Kirito!” Alice shouts, launching back into the fray. “Why you… GET AWAY FROM HIM!” She lunges forwards. “I have not known you for long, but I know enough! How dare you forget so easily? There are people waiting for your return! Those girls Ronye and Tiese who cared about you so much and are awaiting your return, your family in Rulid. How dare you forget Kirito, who has fought so hard to get you back, who LOVES YOU! If there is even a trace of a soul left within you, you will remember!”

Kirito’s not sure what exactly was said that triggered it, but when he next sees Eugeo’s forehead, the piety module is showing.

_ He… remembers? I don’t know who triggered it, me, his family, or the girls, but… _

He steps back, and Alice moves to Kirito’s side to free him. The binds are released, and he grabs his sword, rushing a few steps forward. He stops when he gets close, though. There’s a smile on Eugeo’s face.

“I see. So that’s how it is.” It’s not the same smile that Kirito remembers, but… He looks them over, and then his smile faces as he looks behind Kirito. “Alice.”

The tip of Kirito’s sword is lowered to the ground, and suddenly joy and disbelief fills him.  _ Does that mean… _

“Eugeo, do you remember?” He takes a few steps forwards.

Suddenly, Eugeo looks up. Kirito can’t see the piety module, and there is no more smile on his face. “Kirito!” Alice shouts. 

Eugeo spins his blade, stabbing it into the ground. “Enhance Armament. 

Ice roars out of the ground. Kirito expects to be frozen, but instead…

He’s standing, surrounded by ice, and when he looks behind him, frozen in a block of ice is…

“Alice!”

Turning his back on Eugeo was a mistake. Suddenly he’s disarmed and an armored arm wraps around him, pulling him flush against the form of the integrity knight behind him. “I’m sorry - I hope you forgive me. I just didn’t see another way to restrain you without injuring you further.” Another arm restrains his, pulling them behind his back. “System call, generate luminous element, bind shape.” Kirito thrashes, but his arms are bound before he can do anything. 

“Why?” Kirito hisses. “What’s going…” He looks up into Eugeo’s face, and blinks in surprise at the shockingly innocent expression in them.

“It’s just… I was sent here to reclaim what’s mine. You’re mine, right?”

“...Excuse me?” He squeaks, blushing madly. 

“Mhm,” Eugeo seems strangely content. “You’re mine.” His eyes stray to Kirito’s wounds. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’d heal you, but I don’t remember if I knew any healing techniques before I was summoned.”

“W-w-w-what was that about me being yours? Are you telling me this whole fight just now…”

“I was just told to stop the intruders from getting any further and reclaim what was mine. That one… Alice, was it? She made it very clear I couldn’t have you without a fight. So I fought.”

“...Then this whole time, you were fighting because you wanted  _ me _ ?” Kirito squeaks incredulously. 

“Exactly.” Eugeo says. “...This Alice person seems to be important to you. Don’t worry, she’ll live through that. Kirito blinks in shock when he’s suddenly thrown over Eugeo’s shoulder. 

“Wha… What are you doing?” He squirms around in Eugeo’s grip. “At least untie me!”

“If I do that, you’ll fight me again won’t you?”

“Since when did you turn into a yandere?” Kirito cried. It’s somehow impossible to stay mad at him though, especially with those cute perfectly-innocent teal eyes of his that see absolutely nothing wrong with the current scenario.

Eugeo walks over to pick up his sword. “What is a Yandere?”

“Doesn’t matter…” Eugeo starts walking towards the hole in the ceiling, and suddenly Kirito has a very  _ bad  _ thought.

_ Can I be synthesized too? _

“O-oi, Eugeo.” Kirito says. “Where are we going?”

“Back to the Administrator. Now that my task is completed, I have to report back to her.”

“P-please, Eugeo, I’m yours. I promise I’m yours, but please don’t take me to the Administrator, not like this. If she gets to me…”  _ I’ll either be killed or synthesized! _

“Why?” Eugeo asks.

“Sh-she’ll take me away from you.” Kirito tries to reason with how Eugeo’s mind is now. 

“She won’t,” He says confidently. “She promised me a reward when I came back. I can just ask to have you.”

He grits his teeth. “At least unfreeze Alice first! You may not be able to remember her but she was still your friend!”

“I don’t care.” Eugeo says in a drawl. “If she wants out that badly she’s an integrity knight. I’m sure she’ll make it eventually and if she has any sense she’ll leave.”

“You’d let her go?”

“My orders were to stop her from advancing, right? Then I just have to stop her from getting to the hundredth floor. I highly doubt she’s suicidal enough to try it without help when she couldn’t even beat me.”

“Eugeo, let me go. I’ll make sure she leaves and…”

“Then you’ll leave too and I’ll have to go get you again.” Eugeo replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “If she wants to go she can leave herself. You’re mine, so you have to stay with me.” He halts, as if remembering something. “You… promised you were mine. That you would stay with me no matter what happened.”

Kirito’s heart gives a hopeful lurch, remembering that day under the Gigas Cedar. “Yuu…” The nickname slips out uncalled for. “You remember that?” 

“I think.” Eugeo replied. “In any case, The Administrator is waiting for me.” He steps onto the circle, and without a word it rises, lifting them onto the hundredth floor. 

Kirito struggles weakly, looking around the room.  _ It’s round, the walls are lined with weapons. They’re probably all divine-class, like Alice’s sword.  _ “Oy, Eugeo, put me down!” He can at least walk on his own two feet if he’s going to his doom, right?

“I can’t do that.” Eugeo says solemnly.

_ What?  _ “WHY?” Why does he have to meet their mortal enemy slung over Eugeo’s shoulder like a bag of potatoes? Maybe he lost, but couldn’t he at least be allowed to have some dignity? “Put me down already!”

“I already said no.” Eugeo’s stubborn voice responds. 

He’s about to argue that Eugeo could at least maybe hold him in a way that let him see what was happening when a rather confused feminine voice rings out.

“Um, Eugeo, what is this?”

_ Is that… the administrator? Damn it, at least let me see! _

“I believe your orders were to reclaim your sword and stop the intruders, not bring one here.”  _ Eugeo WHY. _

“...Your orders were to reclaim what was mine.” Eugeo’s clearly reciting the exact wording. Kirito honestly thinks all of this might be worth it  _ if only he could see her face.  _ “So I did.”

Nevermind, it’s not quite worth it. Kirito’s not sure how to identify the noise that comes out of his throat, and his face turns flaming red.  _ I was not ready for that! I was not mentally prepared!  _ “Eh… Eugeo, what was that?” He’s already asked several times now, but WHY IN FRONT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR?

When he turns to try and get a good look at Eugeo’s face, however(he only sees the back of his head), he catches a very good look at the stunned expression on the Administrator’s face that looks like it’s slowly working its way into a migraine. 

_ Alright, everything that’s happened up until now? Worth it just for that. _

“Um, Your Eminence?” And the pig is back. Great.

“Eugeo?” He tries to prompt Eugeo into speaking, since the other has been silent for longer than anticipated. 

“You  _ are  _ mine, right?” Eugeo clarifies, as if to remind Kirito he said it himself. “So I went and got you back.” He sees the Administrator’s palm meet her face, fingernails heaving claw marks in her forehead. “I already said that, remember?”

“As far as I remember,” The Administrator tries to get her composure back. “Your orders had nothing to do with this ‘kirito’.”

A purple triangle appears in his forehead. “Kirito?”

“Yeah, my name. You must have forgotten about it because of the synthesis,” and he might’ve missed it during the fight with him and Alice. There was a lot going on at the time. “I’m Kirito…” The piety module spasms like it’s possessed and is launched as though out of a canon to the other side of the room. “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!” 

“Eeh? Kirito?” Eugeo blinks, looking from himself, to Kirito restrained on his shoulder, and then around the room. Suddenly his face turns bright red. “Aaaaaaaaaah.” That is a sound of embarrassed suffering.  _ That’s what you get for doing this!  _ “S-sorry!” 

Kirito is dropped back to his feet and his bonds are released. Suddenly, he notices a flicker of gold cutting the floor behind The Administrator.  _ Is that… _

A head of gold hair pops up over the edge of the newly-made hole, and Alice stealthily enters the room. Everybody else is too confused or embarrassed to notice her sneaking up behind the Administrator.

“It’s fine, for now let’s focus on the task at hand,” Kirito says. Eugeo hands him his sword back with a nod, and both of them turn to face her. Eugeo’s face flickers as he clearly notices Alice in the background. 

“Okay, you know what?” The Administrator’s rather pleasant facade turns into one of psychotic rage.  _ I feel like that’s more true to her personality.  _ “Killing you sounds F***ing therapeutic right now!”

“Your Eminence!” The Prime Senator gasps, looking as though his entire world has been shattered by one instance of foul language. “What, what did you just…”

She flicks her wrist, and there’s a gruesome splattering noise against the wall. As much as he hated the thing, Kirito feels a bit green at its fate.  _ I’m just… not going to look at that section of the wall for a bit. That sounds good. _

“I’ve wanted to do that for  _ so long now _ ,” she says, spreading her arms. She opens her mouth, clearly about to start a sacred art…

...Only for Alice to stab her straight through the heart with her Fragrant Olive Sword. The woman chokes in shock, blood spewing out of her mouth, and her eyes flicker behind her to look at Alice before they dull, and she falls forward onto her bed for sleep eternal.

_ And it’s over. _

Kirito sighs in relief, turning to Eugeo. “Eugeo, you’re back!” He hugs him, only to notice Eugeo’s flaming red face and spiral-like eyeballs. 

“I… I…”

“Are you two alright?” Alice asks as she rushes up, chanting a sacred art to heal both of their injuries from their previous fight. 

“Yeah. What about you?” Kirito asks. “You didn’t get frostbite, did you?”

“No, I’m fine.” Alice replied. “I think we should be more concerned for your boyfriend there.”

Kirito blinks and turns around just in time to see Eugeo slapping his palms over his face with a tortured whine. “ _ Why  _ did I  _ say  _ that?”

_ Oh god this is adorable.  _ “I thought it was romantic!” Kirito teases. It’s true, his heart  _ was  _ moved during that exchange. “And very cute,” he remembers those innocent teal puppy-dog eyes very well, “even if you did kidnap me.” He feels like this amount of embarrassment is adequate retribution for the scare he put him through. Then he thinks a bit more about it and decides that not it isn’t. He decides to start cashing in on what he’s owed, draping himself across Eugeo partly to be teasing and partly to be close to him in a way that wasn’t nerve-wracking and somewhat terrifying.  _ Yep, I need a lot more of this from now on. You’re never leaving my direct line of sight again.  _

“C-cute?” Eugeo sounds dismayed. “I’m not supposed to be…”

Alice snorts, a look of fondness coming over her features. “Eugeo, you’re not fooling anyone.” She pauses. “So, about these memories of mine…”

“Right!” Eugeo perks up, looking at the ceiling. “It’s the eye of the bird up there.”

And sure enough, that looks a lot like the shape of a piety module. 

Alice smiles, seeing her memories within reach. “I can’t wait to have my memories back… I want to remember my sister as soon as possible so I can go meet her. We can bond over the new memories we’ve made, like Eugeo walking up to Kirito, proclaiming he’s his, picking him up and walking away with him.”

“Stacia spare me,” Eugeo groans.  _ We’re going to get along very well, but… _

“Oi, Alice, you forgot the part where we fought and he turned you into a giant ice cube,” he reminds her.

“...Technicalities. It was still hilarious.” Oh yeah, he thinks he and Alice will get along  _ very  _ well. “By the way, what is that strange stacia window?”

Kirito blinks and looks over at the Admin console that has materialized in the center of the room like the prize for clearing a boss fight. 

_ This is what I wanted most of all, when I first came to the underworld _ , he thinks as he considers it.  _ I wanted to go home to my world more than anything else. But now… _

_ I have another place I belong in. After everything those assholes put us through, they can suffer for a bit before I contact them again. _

“Who knows, but if it’s here it’s probably something dangerous.”

“True.” Alice agrees. “Well then, I’m going to retrieve my memories.”

O

When Kirito suddenly teleports a bit into the air and drops out of the air, it’s confusing for all of them. He just sits up, confused, and when they ask what happened, he has no idea.

Meanwhile, Kikuoka scrambles to find out why Kirito won’t  _ go to the damn console and TALK TO THEM ALREADY. _

O

“So, Kirito…” Eugeo says while Alice sleeps by their side, her memories reintegrating. “You remember your past, before you were sent here, right?”

“Huh?” Kirito asks.

“You talked about it a bit, mentioned it to me.” Eugeo tells him. “Your friends from where you were from.”

“Wait, I remembered?”

And Eugeo’s mind flashes back to the teleport. “Wait, you’ve really forgotten this time?!”

“Hmm… The only thing I remember thinking about it is that it wasn’t important. I think I was kind of annoyed with someone, but nothing else comes to mind.”

“You’ve got to be  _ kidding  _ me. All this suspense and now I’ll never know the answer!”

“Haha… sorry.”

END

FOR REAL THIS TIME

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When the surge hit Kirito, SOMETHING had to happen... Poor Eugeo will now be left in suspense for years to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Eugeo is never going to live this one down. Neither Alice or Kirito will allow that to happen.


End file.
